Billionaire Mafia's Manny
Chapter 81

Chapter 81: Chapter 81

The bodyguards finished dressing and walked out of the room.

They followed Jasper who led them toward the hall.

Zeno was lagging; he was feeling dispirited by this whole Sebastian issue.

If he claimed that he wasn’t married to Georgia, then why was he keeping his distance from him?

He was starting to get angry at Sebastian. Why would he treat him this way? He’d ignored him for a while fucking day.

He better have some good explanation to give him later because he was pissed.

Zeno followed the bodyguards into the decorated hall and the first thing Zeno searched for was Sebastian.

He was easy to find amongst the crowd of classy and rich people.

He stood out in his navy blue suit, his mysterious and dark aura setting him apart from the crowd. He looked very eye-catching, and he surely did catch Zeno’s eyes.

The bodyguards started to disperse themselves around the large hall while some marched forward, taking their positions a little away from their boss to give him some privacy and still be able to protect him if need be.

Zeno knew he should follow the rest and find a position, but he was too focused on Sebastian to think about anything else.

He had almost reached Sebastian’s side when he suddenly heard Mr. Orion’s voice from the stage.

"Good evening, distinguished ladies and gentlemen. We’re happy to have you all grace our invitation; welcome to the launching of Orion Airways in Japan," He announced.

The crowd burst with applause and cheers, quieting down when Mr. Orion raised his hand to pause them.

Just when Zeno thought he’d seen enough wealth, he gets proved wrong every damn time.

He turned and stared at Sebastian, his heart jumping as he caught him staring at him.

But Sebastian removed his eyes the moment he saw Zeno looking back at him.

Even if it was just for that one second, Zeno confirmed that Sebastian was disturbed by their distance too. It confused him, why was Sebastian trying to hide away from him if he wasn’t happy about it?

Once again, Mr. Orion’s voice rang out again.

"We all know that I have only one child; he’s quite stubborn..." He chuckled.

The crowd chuckled along, turning their heads briefly toward Sebastian, who maintained a straight, unsmiling face.

Zeno slowly moved closer to him, but not beside him; he just went and stood in a corner with lesser people, observing Sebastian.

"That’s why I love my grandson so much, he’s like the second son I never had. Tonight, I want to announce that my grandson, Kenneth Orion, is the owner of our new Airway!" Mr. Orion informed energetically.

The crowd went wild, clapping and cheering louder this time, some even stood from their round table to clap and cheer.

Sebastian remained unmoving, he looked bored even.

"I’m inviting my son, Sebastian, please come say a few words to our lovely guests," Mr. Orion invited.

Sebastian clenched his jaws. Was being here not enough already? His father knew he didn’t like to be associated with him yet he found ways to associate them together every time.

As he walked toward the stage, he avoided looking at Zeno. It’s been a hard day for him as he tried to avoid Zeno, and now that he was just a few feet away from him, he realized just how much time he’d spent without speaking or touching him.

It felt like a part of him was dying away, and it was a part of him he’d just realized that he couldn’t live without.

He knew Zeno was aware that he was being avoided by him; he had seen him walk past his limousine in the morning. His searching eyes had tried to get a glimpse of him, but the tinted mirrors wouldn’t let him.

Sebastian had been tempted to wind down the window and let Zeno see him but Zeno had already walked away before he could do it.

His heart had been aching from the moment he woke up, and when he got Zeno’s message, he almost replied at lightning speed, however, when he remembered that Nicholas was still very much present in Zeno’s life, he placed his phone down beside him, and shut his eyes throughout the ride to the airport.

He also avoided seeing Zeno at the airport because he wasn’t sure if he could hold himself back from going to him if saw him.

And now that he knew that Zeno was in the same room as him, he was yet again fighting the urge to damn all this party and show off what his father was doing and go be with Zeno somewhere lonely and quiet, where the both of them would just say what they wanted to say to each other.

Or was it just him who had something to say?

Sebastian climbed the stage and stood in front of the microphone, his eyes going past the crowd and finding Zeno.

He saw him speaking to a familiar man and suddenly cleared his throat, getting his attention back to the stage, to him.

When he saw that Zeno’s attention was back on him, he proceeded to say the shortest appreciation words he’d ever said.

"Thank you all for coming," He said.

The crowd seemed not to mind his short words because they cheered louder and louder.

Well, it was to be expected; he was Sebastian Orion, and even if he parted in front of people, they’d happily applaud and encourage him.

Zeno watched as the father and son avoided each other, or rather, it was the son who was trying to avoid the father.

He saw Sebastian walking down the stage and coming back to his position.

"You don’t look quite happy with your work?" The man who had met Zeno asked.

Zsno frowned and shook his head, "I am, Sir. I’m sorry I can’t engage in a conversation with you. I’m working," He stepped away from the older man.

The late forties, maybe? But surely not thirties.

He could sense Sebastian getting closer and he didn’t want to create the wrong impression of slacking while working or talking to someone else as a lover.

There was a lot of tension between them already and he wouldn’t want to be the reason that it’ll get worse.

He was about to move away from the man but his hand was held back, "I’m sorry, Mr. Zeno, I never gave you my name. I’m Mr. Bison. Here’s my card; give me a call if you want to try working for someone better. Have a lovely evening," Mr. Bison gave him a curt nod and walked away.

The moment Mr. Bison left Zeno’s side was the time Sebastian slowly walked past him, his eyes doing a quick take on Zeno.

"Ida, we’re leaving," Sebastian said and was about to move, but Mr. Orion blocked his path.

"Leaving?" Mr. Orion asked.

"Get off my way," Sebastian gritted his teeth.

Zeno stepped closer to him, wishing he could absorb some of the tension from Sebastian.

"Now, now, Son, that’s no way to speak to your father in public. Walk with me; your Mamá is here tonight; speak with her," Mr. Orion ordered.

Zeno could see Sebastian balling his fists; he hesitated for a moment before he nodded and walked past his father, heading to the other side of the room, Ida following him behind

Zeno was about to turn away since he wasn’t a part of their family discussions but Mr. Orion called out to him.

"Zeno Evander," Mr. Orion called and slowly walked toward Zeno.

Zeno exchanged a short look with Cody, who was standing not quite far away before he turned to face Mr. Orion.

"Good evening, Mr.-"

"Abuelo. I’ve told you before," He corrected.

Zeno nodded, "Buenas noches, Abuelo," He bowed his head in respect.

Mr. Orion smiled at him. "Walk with me, Zeno," He said and started walking in the direction Sebastian had gone.

"I sent you on a mission, but it turns out you’re doing the opposite, am I wrong, Zeno," Mr. Orion questioned, grabbing a drunk from the tray of the hostess who was standing beside a table.

Zeno froze for a second; he froze as he thought that Mr. Orion had somehow managed to discover the relationship between him and Zeno.

But the next question made him release the breath he was holding.

"Is he hiding a girl from me?" Mr. Orion questioned.

Zeno fixed his hand in his pocket and cleared his throat. "No, Abeulo. Mr. Sebastian has been busy with work, that’s why he hasn’t been attending parties or galas. And it also made it difficult for me to do as you e asked me. He’d suspect me if brought a woman into his home," He explained.

Mr. Orion nodded. "That makes sense; I know my boy; he’s as stubborn as the mother, but don’t worry, since he had refused to settle with Georgia, we’d find him someone else. Look over there," He pointed to the table beside Sebastian and a woman he was speaking to.

Zeno guessed that was his mother, she looked kind and beautiful, and regardless of how much Sebastian claimed he didn’t like her, the way he spoke to her was full of respect and love.

Zeno blinked away from him and focused on the table beside him. He saw a beautiful, slim girl eyeing Sebastian very wistfully.

His first instinct was to go over and block Sebastian with his body then tell the girl to look somewhere else.

But he held himself back because he knew that doing so would jeopardize everything.

"Yes, I see her," He said to Mr. Orion.

"Good. That’s Sakura. She’s the best fit as a wife and a mother. She’s the daughter of the most powerful man in Japan, if you succeed in making her sleep with my son tonight, I promise to release you from every contract and clear off your Nana’s medical bill. I don’t care how you do it, just get her to his room. You can see she’s already interested. But don’t worry, if you fail tonight, there are still a lot of chances; she’ll be going to the States for business and will be staying for some months; I trust you’d make good use of that time. And please, keep everything low-profiled; if he finds out, it’ll be bad, especially for you," Mr. Orion patted Zeno’s shoulder and walked away.

"Yes, sir..." Zeno replied as Mr. Orion walked away from him.

Another reality hit him.

He was once again reminded of his position and class.

Sebastian’s family would never accept someone like him. Firstly, he was gay. Secondly, he wasn’t rich nor was he a son of a president or a billionaire.

Everything was just making him realize that Sebastian was out of his league.

He took a deep breath and marched forward.

Maybe it would be good if he got Sebastian to sleep with that Asian girl, he would heal faster when he was freed from this family.